Ripple
by WhereDestiniesMeet17
Summary: A pebble dropped in a puddle causes ripples. A boulder dropped in a lake causes waves. A meteor dropped in the ocean causes tsunamis. This is all three. AU. Kale/Ronnie. Slash. Hiatus. See Profile.


_**Ripple**_

_**Chapter 1**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Disturbia. This is written strictly for entertainment. No profit is made from the piece of fiction.

Pairing: Kale/Ronnie

Rated: M due to sex, violence, and language.

Summary: A pebble dropped in a puddle causes ripples. A boulder dropped in a lake causes waves. A meteor dropped in the ocean causes Tsunamis. This is all three. AU. Slash.

A/N: This is a very slight Alternate Universe story. Only a few things are different, mostly to make room for the slash. This may contain dialogue from the movie.

* * *

If Kale Brecht looked back on his life, his gaze would instantly be drawn to the big, black blotch on his existence. At first, it would seem that the black hole that was his father's death had sucked away any good in his life that had come before. But if he caught hold of what was good in his life at the moment, before it skittered away in fright, he would be brave enough to look past the black hole and remember that his life wasn't always the shit-hole that it had become.

He would remember when he was eight and his mother had accidently set the microwave on fire. Or how when he was seven his father got stuck on the roof and he had to call the fire department. Sometimes he would even remember the stuffed animal he carried around when he was four. It was the weirdest stuffed animal that any child has ever loved.

It was a blue rat that his mother found in a thrift store. Its true origin was a mystery that Kale didn't care to uncover. It was the mystery that had made him love it so. It had been smooth to the touch and smelled of detergent. It was soft enough to be used for a pillow, which most the time it was. It had been missing its left eye, so they had drawn made an eye patch, using a sharpie. Its name had been One-Eyed Rat.

He had pretended that One-Eye was a pirate that sailed the Beige Carpet Seas, lived on Counter Island, and battled his arch enemy called Bed Time. It was an ongoing rivalry that lasted until One-Eyed Rat's death during Kale's seventh year on earth.

One-Eyed Rat was murdered on November 5, by the evil Dr. Washing Machine. Admittedly, One-Eye was hanging onto life by duct tape and a thread, but Kale was completely unprepared for him to die. At Kale's insistence, they buried him behind the house in an old shoe box. He would not have his best friend thrown into the trash, like any normal stuffed animal. Kale cried as he watched his father shovel dirt into the small hole they had dug. As dirt covered his faithful companion's final resting place, acceptance crept its way into Kale's heart.

He was thirteen the next time he experienced anything that came close to the friendship he shared with that stuffed rat. It was a friendship that didn't have a definite beginning, mostly because neither of them could remember the exact moment they became friends. Their friendship fell into place like two puzzles pieces and they adjusted to each other like two people that had known each other for decades instead of days. It was far better than anything Kale ever had with One-Eyed Rat.

* * *

It was three years later when Kale realized just how strong that friendship was.

This knowledge came in the shadow of his father's death, when he woke up in a hospital room. They had sent him to surgery the second he had arrived so they could reassemble his broken leg. The doctor told a bad joke about using all the duct tape, glue, and metal plates they had in the building. Kale remembered that he didn't laugh at the joke.

They had him pumped so full of morphine that he was surprised he remembered anything at all.

He did remember that mother was constantly at his side. More than once he came around to the sound of her sobbing. More than once, he heard her plead to wake up from the nightmare. He knew that there would be no waking up. When those pitiful cries finally gave way, a terrible silence followed. It was months later before either of them really accepted what had happened to Kale and his father.

Only once did he remember waking up only once and her not being there. In her place was Ronald, who explained that they made his mother go home because they were worried she might pass out from exhaustion. He had bravely taken her place, despite the glares he received from the nurses.

"I told them that I'm your illegitimate half brother from Milwaukee." Ronnie had said with a grin.

Kale had smiled back before asking Ronal if he knew about his dad. Ronnie had looked him in the eyes when he responded. All humor had fled from his eyes and the whole room grew solemn in its absence.

"Yeah. Kale, I know it doesn't help, but I'm sorry. I'm here for you, when you need me."

Kale couldn't hold Ronald's intense gaze and dropped his eyes. His speech was slurred when he spoke.

"It was my fault."

The hand that gripped his was nearly painful. "No. It wasn't."

Kale never heard the words. No matter who told him, it never got through. He would blame himself until he came to terms with what had happened. He would have to accept what had happened before he could even think about who was guilty or not. He was the only one that could prove his innocence to himself.

* * *

Ronnie was the one who dragged Kale through the next couple of months of his life. His mother was as broken as he was, and she could barely pull herself. She had found herself a single parent and a widow, paying off expensive medical bills, trying to juggle her job, which was the only thing keeping the debt collectors at bay, and taking her son's physical therapy. All the while she was grieving and just barely keeping her head above water.

When the pressure became too much, Ronnie was the one who helped her. He was the one that drove Kale to physical therapy. He was the one who tackled Kale and held him down until a finally agreed to eat something. He was the one that got out of the house when all Kale wanted was to sleep. Ronnie was the one who kept Kale sane.

And as much as it hurt, and as surreal as it felt to do so, Kale and his mother pieced their lives back together. They picked themselves up and forced themselves forward, feet dragging but moving.

* * *

If Kale Brecht looked back on his life, it usually wasn't because he wanted to stroll down memory lane. He didn't like looking back on who he had been. He had changed so much, he could barely recognize himself. He didn't like seeing how nothing was safe from change. Even the relationships between him and the people he cared about had changed.

He and his mothers were closer to enemies than family. They loved each other, but couldn't stand being around one another. And his and Ronald's friendship had shifted from carefree to something a little more serious. Kale wasn't exactly sure what it was. He knew that something had changed on his side, but he wasn't certain if Ronnie felt it too. It had been faint at first, but every day it seemed to grow.

Nothing was safe from change and the only thing anyone could do about it was adjust to it. Change struck like lighting and was just as painful. Unfortunately, Kale was like a wounded animal when it came to pain. He struck out when hurt or scared, and fuck the consequences.

A year after his father's death, when Kale's teacher decided to drag his father into the conversation, Kale did was he always had. He struck out, consequences be damned.

* * *

"What would your father think?" Mr. Gutierrez asked quietly so that the other students wouldn't hear.

It took a quarter of a second for his words to process. It took another fourth of a second for the shock to wear off and the blow to hit home, forcing pain to spike through his whole body. It took half a second for him to raise his fist and strike the man in the face, sending him tumbling to the floor.

As people jumped from their seats for multiple reasons, Kale advanced on Gutierrez's prone form. Some people wanted to get the hell of out of his way. Others wanted a better view of this surprising and gossip worthy sight. But only one person wanted to stop him before he got even so deep in shit that he couldn't get out.

It was the restraining hand that Ronnie laid on his chest that kept him from ripping Gutierrez to pieces. He allowed the person behind the hand to pull him back and away, people creeping forward in the wake of his path. The adrenaline was still running through his veins and he heard his heart hammering in his ears. He could feel Ronnie's presence behind acutely as he stared down at his teacher.

Gutierrez stared back at him, his nose clasped in his hand and blood pouring through his fingers. Skinny Psycho was helping him to his feet and Kale could see the anger burning in his eyes.

"If I wasn't a teacher, I'd kick your ass." He hissed, but the threat was useless due to the pathetic whine coming from his broken nose.

Kale closed his eyes. He felt his stomach drop out from beneath him as the full impact of his actions hit home. He wouldn't be surprised if he was charged with assault. He guessed he should be grateful that Ronnie was keeping him from bumping that up to attempted murder.

Then the principal arrived, along with the cop that was always on school grounds and he was being escorted to the office in handcuffs, Mr. Gutierrez trailing along behind him.

* * *

"Want me to help you escape? If I push and you pull, we might be able to drag the bench out the door." Ronnie offered, nearly an hour after Kale's assault on Mr. Gutierrez.

Kale smiled at the image the words summoned to mind. He was sitting on the bench outside of the principal's office. The cop had found it necessary to handcuff him to said bench, while they waited for his mother to arrive. Inside the office, the cop was taking Mr. Gutierrez's statement and the principal had slipped off to talk to the students.

Kale glanced up and down the halls to check for students. The dusty, white tiled floors glared in the harsh lights. The walls, lined with green lockers, cast a green tinge to the floor. Kale caught sight of a few people peeking around a door into a class room. He saw them pull back when they caught sight of him.

"Too many witnesses."

"You weren't thinking about witnesses when you punch Gutierrez." Ronald retorted.

"I wasn't thinking." Kale muttered.

"I noticed. Dude, I know he was being an asshole, but did you really have to punch him? I'm not saying it wasn't cool, or that I wouldn't have done the same thing in your place-which I probably wouldn't have but that isn't the point-but did you have to?"

Kale felt his hackles rise. "He deserved it."

Ronald nodded, hearing the defensive tone in Kale's voice. "Listen, I got to get back to Health class. The old biddy is taking row." Ronald patted Kale's hand and started away. He paused and looked back.

"And Kale, under different circumstances, I bet the handcuffs would be a great look for you. They'd work well with all the skulls." Ronald grinned before hurrying down the hall.

He had turned before away before he could catch the look that took over Kale's face. At first it had been shock. He had taken Ronnie's words in a completely wrong and very sexual way. Then heat had flushed Kale's face for an undeniable reason. It wasn't so much from embarrassment, but from the heat that had bloomed in his gut.

For half a second he had thought that Ronnie was coming onto him. And he if he had been, Kale wouldn't not have objected at all.

Kale's head thudded against the brick wall behind him. He couldn't believe it. He had figured out why things felt different between him and Ronnie.

Change really did hit at the strangest moments and all you could do was roll with its punches. Change was a dirty fighter, after all.

* * *

A/N: Concrit welcome.


End file.
